Milward Seam Ripper

If you are new to sewing, take it from us, your seam ripper will become one of your best friends. Regular sewers accept that mistakes will happen. When they do you need a good quality seam ripper to rescue the situation without fear or ripping or distorting the fabric.

We have thoroughly road tested this one at our sewing school and love it. Its handle is soft to the touch and ergonomically designed, making unsewing almost a pleasure!

TOP TIPS

To use insert the tip of your ripper in the top of your stitch and break the stitch, repeat this process every 5 stitches, then turn your project over and repeat, as you pull on the stitches whole rows of cotton will come out.

DO NOT be tempted to pull your fabrics apart and insert the ripper in the middle to rip through the stitches, this method causes the most stress to the fabric and can leave you with warped or unusable fabric pieces.

It can be tempting to use a small stitch length to ensure a strong seam line, it will take longer and use more cotton, but it does give you a feeling of confidence. The biggest issue with this policy arises if you make a mistake and need to unpick your seam. At minimum you will have to unpick more stitches, and at worst you will find it too difficult to get the end of the tool under each stitch without damaging the fabric For regular quilting cottons, such as those stocked at Prints to Polka Dots, a stitch length of 2-2.5 is recommended.

Only unpick the area with the fault. It can be difficult to decide how much to unpick, particularly when you are dealing with top stitching. Only unpick enough to correct the mistake, plus a couple of cms each side.

Use the longest stitch available on your sewing machine for basting - you will sew your pieces together quicker, with less cotton, and if you have to remove the stitches later, they will come out easily.